‘Played a bowler for the 19th over’ – Aakash Chopra points out Delhi Capitals’ tactical mistakes against PBKS

Aakash Chopra and Delhi Capitals. (Photo Source: Aakash Chopra/Instagram)

On Saturday, May 13, Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) battled in an Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. DC captain David Warner won the toss, but Punjab won the game by 31 runs after batting second, thereby knocking DC out of contention for the IPL 2023 playoffs.

Prabhsimran Singh (103 off 65) struck a ton as PBKS set DC a 168-run target. However, their bowlers restricted the home side to 136 runs, keeping their team’s hopes alive of finishing in the top four.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra questioned DC skipper David Warner for not using Mukesh Kumar effectively as a bowler while evaluating the game on JioCinema’s “AakashVani” show. Mukesh bowled only one over, the 19th, where he dismissed the centurion Prabhsimran.

“What do Delhi do? They are a very interesting side. Mukesh Kumar, who was playing as a bowler in this game, bowled only one over and that was the 19th over. You played a bowler for the 19th over. They have done many such interesting things in the entire season. He even dismissed Prabhsimran Singh in that over,” Chopra said.

DC decided to bowl after winning the toss on a pitch where there was a lot of turn: Chopra

The 45-year-old believes that decking to bowl first seemed a mistake that DC made. He also stated that if they make such a move, they should have a clear idea about the starting XI and the pitch. He went on to say that if a team fails in each of these areas, the think tank is useless, and he expects DC will make improvements.

“They decided to bowl after winning the toss on a pitch where there was a lot of turn, but it did not matter to them. When you have such a big think-tank, they have one job – to play the right XI and to read the pitch properly. If you fail in both these things, the think-tank is of no use and I feel Delhi will make changes,” he added.

The Capitals have had a dismal season so far, ranking bottom on the IPL 2023 points table with eight points. Except for skipper David Warner, who is now ranked ninth on the IPL 2023 Orange Cap list, only a few DC players have performed extremely well this season. DC and PBKS will square off again in the tournament on May 17 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.